Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Ghosts of Spiritualism Linger

Medium

Spiritualism,
a religion most folks have never heard about, actually was all the rage globally
back in the 1920s.That’s the belief
that personalities live on after death and can be contacted by the living via
mediums.

The
concept has faded away, largely through the efforts of debunkers who showed
that so-called mediums were invariably frauds.Living people blew the heavenly trumpets, not spirits, and they
manipulated tables and the like without other worldly assistance.Harry Houdini, who was then well known as a
magician and an escape artist, led the charge against Spiritualism, which was
supported by such well-known personages as Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of
the Sherlock Holmes mysteries.

Houdini
was joined by religious leaders from around the world, who saw Spiritualism as
an attack on their faith.

Houdini

Spiritualism’s
attractions are obvious.People were
drawn to the belief because of personal tragedy.They wanted to maintain contact with a dead
loved one.That’s how Houdini got
involved.He hoped to contact with
his late, beloved mother and became disgusted when renowned mediums tried to
defraud him.

I
have been reading a book about Houdini’s efforts against Spiritualism, a tale
that focused on a Boston woman who was seen as the world’s best medium.Houdini was able to demonstrate how she
pulled off her tricks and helped destroy her reputation.

Then, I received a tweet from a friend, Jack,
telling me about the sad death of his wife, Karen. Jack wrote that he looked
forward to seeing her again in heaven.While
he didn’t mean to raise a question, he did: How is his belief in a heavenly
afterlife any different than Spiritualism?

Jack
doesn’t intend to talk to Karen through a medium, of course, but fully expects
to greet his late wife in some ethereal abode.In Spiritualism, the place was called Summerland.There’s no difference.The logic is the same, too: the dead person
really isn’t gone, just translated to a special place to await the arrival of a
loved one.

Of
course, to get there, Jack must believe in a certain religion.Otherwise, neither he nor Karen could go to
their imaginary heaven.

It’s
the same snake oil once sold by people who dressed up in robes and orchestrated
“messages” from those in the great beyond.

No
wonder organized religions protested Spiritualism. They didn’t like competition. Houdini didn’t
have that concern.He was a non-practicing
Jew who had no apparent interest in any religion.He didn’t care what religion a medium
was.He only was concerned if any
contact really could be made into the spirit world.

Conan Doyle

Religions
on the other hand saw a loss of followers and their accompanying money.So, they vociferously protested Spiritualism
to the point that even Conan Doyle spoke out against organized religion.

Once
Spiritualism was destroyed – or, at least, shoved underground – organized
religion was then free to continue to purvey the same nonsense about a heaven
for their members.They didn’t have to
use bells and whistles, or spiritual manifestations.They could rely on “sacred” books and pious claims
to accomplish the same thing.

By
the way, none of this is new, at least not with organized religion.All faiths have absorbed competition by the
simple expedient of re-branding a holiday or idea.Spirits long preceded today's religions and were a mainstay of ancient faiths. They were just co-opted into "souls" that wing their way to "heaven."

That’s
more comforting than reality, but just as much malarkey as anything Spiritualism
ever claimed.In fact, although Spiritualism
these days may only hover about in the shadowy corners of society, the ideas
encapsulated in its teaching prosper, just as they have for thousands of years.

Long-time
religious historian Bill Lazarus regularly writes about religion and religious
history.He also speaks at various
religious organizations throughout Florida.You can reach him at www.williamplazarus.net.He is the author of the famed Unauthorized
Biography of Nostradamus; The Last Testament of Simon Peter; The Gospel Truth: Where Did the Gospel
Writers Get Their Information; Noel:
The Lore and Tradition of Christmas Carols;and Dummies Guide to Comparative
Religion.His most recent book is Passover in Prison, which
details abuse of Jewish inmates in American prisons.His books are available on Amazon.com,
Kindle, bookstores and via various publishers.He can also be followed on Twitter.

You
can enroll in his on-line class, Comparative Religion for Dummies, at
http://www.udemy.com/comparative-religion-for-dummies/?promote=1

About Me

During his career, Bill has been a newspaper reporter, magazine writer/editor, advertising copywriter and writer/editor of NASCAR programs, among other jobs. He has won three international awards for stories and programs while working for International Speedway Corp. and was named 2000 Florida Feature Writer of the Year.
He has published four books to date and his writing has appeared in hundreds of local, regional, state and national publications.